Renegade (TRD #1)

1 | The Salvation

My parents were killed when I was ten years old. Right before my eyes, for that matter, and I was forced to watch it happen, my frail body was pinned to the floor by a member of the Peace Agency who was undoubtedly in his thirties. On top of that, my younger brother, Niko, was murdered the same day, publicly whipped until his heart stopped at the mere age of nine. Apparently witnessing the death of my family members was a way to “teach a lesson” and scare me into never even thinking about violating the law, unlike my parents. “Follow the law kids!” My ass. Jokes on them, I’m a spitting image of my parents, and one day, I’m going to become so much worse. Whenever I find an opening, that is. For now, I’m a prisoner to this shattered reality, a captive to this damned school, the place I like to call hell. There is nothing worse than the boarding school I attend, not even Oakhampton Palace where the wealthy, self-absorbed bastards spend their sweet little lives in peace.

After my parents and brother were killed, I was tossed into a boarding school located in the city of Lysidamus, home of one out of the three Vozmeaden regions, The Salvation. Or, to put it simply, the middle class. I was born into The Salvation, but it’s different for countless others, considering that there’s three regions, and our ancestors were placed into their designated regions over 1000 years ago. Almost everything to do with this kingdom confuses me since I never paid attention in history class. All I know is that the kingdom of Vozmead has existed for 2046 years, but won the War Between Good and Evil 984 years ago in 1062. Civilization proceeded to split into three social classes, and at the bottom of that pyramid is The Unseen. Peasants.

The Unseen is the social class with the largest population, but they occupy the smallest Vozmeaden city, Folkestone. Those deemed “unhealthy” or “abnormal” were sentenced to the life of being a peasant. And some might think: Well, perhaps being one of The Unseen isn’t so bad and I’m the one being overdramatic whenever I explain the things I’ve seen. Wrong. I’ve visited Folkestone countless times, once a month since I turned 13 because the middle class is required to provide their necessities, including food like grains and meat, clothes hand-sewn by middle class workers, and life saving medicine. But the entire city is filled with grime and disease, dim lighting, crumbling structures, civilians with weak bodies, torn up clothing, disheveled hair, life threatening illnesses flooding through their veins. There are shops around every corner with employees simply trying to make a penny, homeless civilians who have endured deadly thunderstorms and harsh winters.

Not only that, but the housing options are awful. Small, run-down homes are occupied by more than one family, and apartments can barely fit desired furniture like a bed or a fireplace for warmth since the atmosphere tends to be bone-chilling. Buildings are cracking and falling apart, leaving many without shelter and low chances of surviving. Hundreds of others go without jobs and no opportunities to provide for their families. Even worse, there’s a law here in Vozmead that states a portion of one’s food must be distributed to “ensure equitable sustenance across the population.” I’ve never heard a lie bigger than that one, because the food isn’t distributed across the population. It’s given to the government. Anyone with common sense in this kingdom has gotten that through their head by now, and if not, well… they just don’t have common sense.

Then there’s The Salvation, middle class, many times nicer than Folkestone and much more wealthy, though still nowhere near the level of The Untamed. Every civilian over 21 is equipped with a good-paying job, and although the housing is much nicer, made of stronger materials, people are required to purchase their own home unless, of course, they live with their parents, which is luckily completely legal. Members also value their health, and it’s practically impossible to find someone wearing baggy or revealing clothing. Or perhaps that’s just because of the dress code put in place, but their hair is clean, and they usually smell good. I find that people favor floral scents, and sure, it’s nice, but when I can smell it around the entire block, it makes me sneeze.